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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24121543">with you (by my side)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/softhao/pseuds/softhao'>softhao</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Cute Ending, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, also heavily inspired by tobi lou sorry, jocky mingyu, seventeen are all in the same grade, stoner!wonwoo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:34:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,016</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24121543</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/softhao/pseuds/softhao</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>mingyu meets wonwoo for the first time on a humid summer night in high school. he thinks that wonwoo is definitely the coolest person he has ever met.</p><p>title from berlin/westside- tobi lou</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeon Wonwoo &amp; Kim Mingyu, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. first times</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hi! this deals with underage smoking and underage drinking, if you are not comfortable with that please find another wonderful fic on this website to read &lt;3 weed usage is very criminalized in korea, and in no way am i suggesting that wonwoo or mingyu smoke/have smoked weed before. i also do not condone underage smoking or drinking! please be safe</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>mingyu meets wonwoo for the first time on a humid summer night. it’s the weird in-between from being a junior to a senior in high school, and mingyu’s friends decided to bring him along to a get together with some kids from other high schools in the city. </p><p>what mingyu didn’t really know is that it was a “party” of sorts at some empty house. mingyu uses the word party loosely: mostly just groups of kids sitting in a circle passing a joint, or drinking svedka, rap music blaring from someone’s speaker. he isn’t really sure what he was expecting. </p><p>mingyu wanders around for a little bit chatting with people from his school, but outside of his typical friend group.</p><p>at some point though, he gets a little bit tired of socializing and goes to the second floor of the house, looking for somewhere to chill for a bit. </p><p>of course, this is a house full of mildly blasted teenagers, so going upstairs could be a dire mistake. however, mingyu is pleasantly surprised with what he finds.<br/>
sitting next to the window of an empty bedroom is a guy who looks about his age, with dark brown hair and broad shoulders. </p><p>mingyu notices the boy’s sharp jawline and defined cheekbones as he raises his lighter to take a hit out of a purple glass pipe. after a few seconds, he exhales out the bedroom window, the smoke vanishing into the clear summer night. </p><p>the bedroom still smells a little bit earthy and sweet. </p><p>“wanna sit down?” the broad-shouldered stranger asks. </p><p>“oh yeah, sure. i just wanted to get away from the crowd,” mingyu replies.</p><p>“im wonwoo,” the guy (mingyu now knows is named wonwoo) says after taking another hit. </p><p>mingyu replies, saying his name and asking what school wonwoo goes to. they happen to go to rival high schools in their city. </p><p>“would you like a hit? its not every day that a stranger is willing to share his weed,” wonwoo chuckles. </p><p>mingyu’s heart rate skyrockets. “umm... yeah, sure. but i’ve never actually tried weed before. i don’t really know how to do this.”</p><p>wonwoo looks happily at him. “okay! that’s cool if you wanna try it now. but really, don’t feel pressured.” </p><p>he holds out the pipe for mingyu, and mingyu takes it, still a little unsure.</p><p>“i can light it for you if you want. that way you can focus on inhaling. there are a few things to know: see this little hole here? it’s called a carb, you wanna hold that with your thumb until you stop inhaling through the mouthpiece at the end of the pipe. im gonna light the bowl, the thing with the weed.” wonwoo sounds like an expert... mingyu doesn’t normally get intimidated, he is definitely feeling that way right now. </p><p>wonwoo continues, “when i hold the lighter to it, im gonna wait for it to be able to stay lit on its own. immediately after that, start inhaling. if you need to cough, just make sure you don’t cough into the pipe or we will have a bit of a mess to clean up afterwards.” </p><p>mingyu follows the boys instructions (even through his nerves) and feels his lungs start to burn as he inhales, his body getting warmer and warmer.</p><p>he feels a cough coming and quickly moves his mouth away from the pipe before coughing out the window. he grins at wonwoo. </p><p>“not too bad, i don’t think?” mingyu almost asks. </p><p>“pretty good for a first timer. definitely better than me. the first time i tried to smoke, i coughed directly into the pipe and weed went everywhere. my friend was definitely not pleased,” wonwoo says with a laugh.</p><p>“oh wow, i think i would be so embarrassed. i’m pretty nervous right now too,” mingyu admits.</p><p>“don’t worry, it’s usually not too bad. we’ll just wait a few minutes until you feel it, or you can take another hit. some people don’t feel anything their first time, though.” </p><p>mingyu nods and wonwoo grabs his phone, turning some chill hip hop music on, “to fit the vibes,” he says. </p><p>“oh no way, you listen to tobi lou too?” mingyu asks excitedly. wonwoo nods.</p><p>wonwoo replies, “at least if i know nothing about you except that you go to redwood high, i know you must have good music taste.”</p><p>at that moment, mingyu starts to feel a little bit floaty. wonwoo must notice, because he immediately asks if mingyu is still feeling okay. </p><p>mingyu nods. “i just feel a bit like im dreaming and kinda floating... i don’t really know to describe it.”</p><p>“that’s alright, i know exactly how you feel. just let me know if you need anything or start feeling worse.” </p><p>honestly, mingyu doesn’t think he’s ever met anyone as welcoming and easy to talk to. he met this guy not even half an hour ago and he already feels like they are becoming friends. </p><p>wonwoo is so open and casual. he feels like a breath of fresh air for him. they talk about wonwoo’s childhood, and mingyu learns that wonwoo has a little brother. wonwoo’s parents moved from korea to the us before wonwoo was born. mingyu is the same way. neither of them know very much about their korean roots, especially since their parents never taught them korean. </p><p>wonwoo is also a really good student, actually looking to be the valedictorian, and mingyu must not have done a very good job of hiding his shock because wonwoo laughs. </p><p>“i know, the whole stoner thing doesn’t seem that likely. stereotypes will do that to you, but it’s more of an escape from the whole valedictorian persona. i don’t smoke on the weekdays or when i have exams coming up, but my parents definitely don’t know. they would probably kick me out.“</p><p>mingyu learns that wonwoo wants to major in neuroscience in undergrad and go on to be a brain surgeon. however, his real passion is poetry. wonwoo says that he can even rap (“just a little bit”) but mingyu thinks that’s the coolest thing ever. </p><p>they talk about mingyu too. wonwoo nods as mingyu talks about how his family also came from korea before he was born, about how his parents and younger sister mean everything to him. </p><p>mingyu’s passions lie in two things: working with children, and swimming. he’s not even entirely sure what he wants to do at this point... he just knows he wants to be around kids as much as possible. but right now, most of his priorities concern club swimming and how he is gonna drop time this season. </p>

<p>they talk about everything, from music to books to their dumb friends who are probably still downstairs doing god knows what. mingyu isn’t sure if it’s the weed or wonwoo, but he feels the most relaxed he has felt in ages. </p><p>somehow, a couple of hours hours pass and soon the floaty feeling fades away. mingyu’s phone starts buzzing. it’s his (dumb) friend from downstairs, joshua. </p><p>“hello? mingyu, where the fuck are you? soonyoung threw up everywhere and i’m gonna drive everyone back to my house. i haven’t seen you in a couple hours,” joshua says on the other end. </p><p>mingyu sighs. “yeah josh, i’ll be down in a sec. i’m upstairs right now.” </p><p>“great, thanks gyu,” joshua then hangs up, probably a bit relieved that someone else sounds sober.</p><p>wonwoo looks at mingyu. “everything alright?” </p><p>“just peachy. one of my friends apparently threw up everywhere downstairs, so we’re all going back to one of the guy’s houses,” mingyu replies.</p><p>“not too surprising. get a bunch of teenagers together with cheap alcohol and someone’s gonna barf at some point.”</p><p>that makes mingyu laugh, probably harder than he should have, until he realizes that he’s gonna have to leave wonwoo’s very comforting presence.</p><p>“did you come here alone? how are you gonna get home, do you need a ride? josh can probably give you a ride somewhere if you need it. i don’t wanna abandon you here,” mingyu worries. </p><p>“ah, my friends are downstairs too. probably mingling with your friends. gonna go home with them soon, probably crash wherever. no worries,” says wonwoo. </p><p>mingyu’s phone buzzes again with text messages from joshua asking when he’s gonna be downstairs. joshua is right, mingyu needs to leave, he just doesn’t want to.</p><p>“okay, i really need to get going,” mingyu says. “i’ll see you at some point?”</p><p>wonwoo nods. “yeah, bye mingyu. this was really nice. i promise i’m not that boring sober either.”</p><p>mingyu stands up and walks to the door. with a final “bye wonwoo,” he heads downstairs to see his friends standing by the door. </p><p>“oh, everyone was waiting for me?” he jokes as they file out of the house and pile into joshua’s massive chevy suburban.</p><p>he realizes he left without getting something: wonwoo’s phone number. not even in a romantic way... he just wants to talk to the guy. at least mingyu felt like they really connected. </p><p>“left something?” his other friend, chan, asks. mingyu shakes his head. “just a little bit tired.” </p><p>the other boys in the car groan (half asleep) in agreement: it’s been a long night. </p><p>mingyu hopes this summer never ends so that he can feel like this forever: just a little bit floaty and happy with his friends. </p><p>but there’s a particularly fascinating boy with broad shoulders and pretty cheekbones on his mind.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. diner dates (is it a date?)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>mingyu gets increasingly confused about his feelings for wonwoo as he learns more and more about the boy.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>the next time mingyu and wonwoo cross paths is actually at their homecoming football game 2 months later. </p><p>mingyu’s school is the home team, wonwoo’s is visitor. it seems like nearly every student from both schools came, from the absolutely packed stadium. </p><p>screaming erupts from both sides as mingyu’s team gets a touchdown. mingyu can’t tell, but it sounds like the loudest screams are coming from is friends, who are completely surrounding the poor boy. </p><p>“FUCK MOUNTAIN SIDE!!!!!” seungkwan yells right into mingyu’s ear. he winces a little bit at the ridiculously loud boy. </p><p>soonyoung joins in. soon all of his friends and everyone in the student section are chanting “fuck mountain side,” at the top of their lungs. </p><p>mingyu appreciates their enthusiasm and<br/>how much energy students will channel into disliking their rivals. </p><p>mingyu decides he needs a little bit of a break. then he remembers that wonwoo is probably at this game. </p><p>he hasn’t stopped thinking about the boy since that night they had smoked together. he made the executive decision not to tell any of his friends about wonwoo, because they are nosy and weird and probably would make fun of him for thinking about a guy this much. </p><p>he even tried to find wonwoo’s instagram and snapchat. he found the instagram, and wonwoo and mingyu actually had a lot of followers in common. however, mingyu really didn’t want to come off as creepy, so he just silently stalked instead of following him. </p><p>“i’m gonna go get some fresh air,” mingyu leans down to tell his friend minghao, who is on the stand below him. minghao nods and mingyu pushes through the crowd to leave the stands. </p><p>he wanders over to the other side of the football stadium in hopes of finding wonwoo, which might be impossible in the sea of students.</p><p>somehow, he actually sees the familiar dark hair and pretty face (that has been floating around in his mind for the last 2 months) standing in the packed crowd in the middle of a group of guys mingyu assumes are his friends. </p><p>the crowd starts booing as mingyu’s school makes another touchdown and the band from his school plays their school song. </p><p>as soon as mingyu starts wondering how the hell he’s even going to get wonwoo’s attention, wonwoo looks down directly at mingyu. </p><p>mingyu’s heart swells at the way wonwoo’s face lights up. he ignores the voice in his brain saying it’s not supposed to do that and waves up at the stands. wonwoo immediately makes his way down to mingyu.</p><p>“wow, it’s been too long,” wonwoo smiles.</p><p>mingyu isn’t even really sure what to say, and it’s really hard to hear over the band playing and students cheering.</p><p>“sorry, it’s a little bit hard to hear you right now,” mingyu replies sheepishly.</p><p>“wanna get out of here?” he knows it’s nothing, but wonwoo’s suggestion makes mingyu’s heart thump loudly in his chest. </p><p>“yeah... can i take you somewhere? there’s a really good diner that’s open late over here.” mingyu tries to cover his reddening cheeks.</p><p>“im totally down for that.”</p><p>mingyu drives wonwoo over to the closest diner, which he usually reserves for after swim meets with his friends. </p><p>the food might not even be that impressive, but when you are dehydrated and have spent the last 4 hours stressing out for a 3 minute race it sure as hell tastes like the best meal you’ve ever had. </p><p>he just hopes wonwoo likes it.</p><p>once they sit down in a booth that is far too big for just the two of them, wonwoo starts their conversation.</p><p>“so what have you been up to lately, mr mingyu?”</p><p>mingyu giggles at the nickname (and then immediately afterward, realizes that he giggled).</p><p>“um... not much. i wake up, go to swim practice, go to school, then go to swim practice again. when i get home i crash. it feels like the same day pretty much over and over again,” mingyu replies. “what about you mr wonwoo?” </p><p>wonwoo taps his fingers on the table in rhythm with the pop music playing in the diner. </p><p>“nothing that interesting,” he says with a grin. “mostly school, trying not to get senioritis. i’ve been writing a lot of songs lately, though.”</p><p>“oh, you should totally show me, i would love to hear one,” mingyu nearly interrupts him.</p><p>“next time we hang out, yeah?”</p><p>next time. wonwoo suggested a next time. mingyu wants to explode.</p><p>a waitress comes up to their table and asks what she can get for them tonight. </p><p>first, wonwoo orders a short stack of chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate milk, and mingyu orders chicken and waffles with a water. </p><p>“chicken and waffles?” wonwoo remarks.</p><p>“yeah, i like it cause it’s balanced. well, maybe not nutritionally, but it’s a little bit sweet and savory,” mingyu thinks that he likes balance. </p><p>mingyu notices wonwoo humming under his breath. his head must be bursting full with music all the time. he shakes off the thoughts that yearn to be a source of inspiration for wonwoo.</p><p>“where is this ring from? it’s pretty,” wonwoo points at a silver band adorning mingyu’s pinky finger. </p><p>“oh, heh. that’s just something given to every redwood captain of the swim team. all that responsibility and all i have to show for it is a ring,” mingyu jokes. </p><p>the dark haired boys eyes go wide. “you’re  the captain of the swim team??!!” he exclaims.</p><p>mingyu might have forgotten to mention that? how did he forget about that. he got lost in hearing wonwoo talk about himself, he guesses.</p><p>“oh, uh. yeah? i guess i forgot to mention it, but i’ve been captain of the swim team since the start of junior year,” he replies. he doesn’t want to sound like he’s bragging, but if wonwoo thought he was cool, it’s not like that would be a bad thing.</p><p>they make small talk until their food is delivered to their table, at which point the only sounds coming from the boys are the occasional “mmmm, yum.” </p><p>mingyu insists on paying for their food even when wonwoo protests “(but you drove here)!” as they walk out of the diner and get into mingyu’s car, mingyu gets curious about something.</p><p>“so were the guys standing around you at the game your friends? he asks.</p><p>wonwoo reaches his arm and rubs the back of his neck. </p><p>“oh yeah, most of them are my friends: vernon, seungcheol, seokmin, jihoon, and seungkwan. i’ll have to introduce you to them some time.”</p><p>“how’d you meet them?” mingyu asks.</p><p>“hmm... well, we actually all met through each other? vernon, seungcheol and i used to write super shitty music together in middle school. seungcheol knows jihoon who knows seokmin and seungkwan. somehow we all started eating lunch together once we entered high school... and now we are still friends. we even have a music club at school.”</p><p>mingyu’s eyes widen. “whoa, that’s so cool!”</p><p>wonwoo laughs. “it would be cooler if we weren’t the only people in it.” </p><p>“i still think it’s cool.”</p><p>“what abt you?” wonwoo asks.</p><p>“my friends? actually, our friend groups are about the same size, i think. minghao, joshua, jeonghan, chan, soonyoung, and junhui. they’re all on the swim team. well, except chan, but he goes to all of our meets to cheer us on. not totally sure how he ended up here...”</p><p>mingyu and wonwoo arrive back at the football stadium. surprisingly, the game is still going (and mingyu’s school is still winning.)</p><p>“vernon is taking me home, so i’ll just get out here if that’s okay.”</p><p>“oh yeah, that’s fine.”</p><p>mingyu pulls over to get out of the road.</p><p>“okay then, this was really fun. we should definitely hang out sometime.” </p><p>mingyu doesn’t even really know what to say. his internal dialogue is urging him to ask for the boy’s number, but is that too suggestive? is snapchat more casual?</p><p>the words kind of fall out mingyu’s mouth.</p><p>“um. canigetyournumber?” he asks. a rosy blush covers his face.</p><p>“sorry, what was that?”</p><p>“number? phone number... can i get your number?” mingyu is thoroughly embarrassed. </p><p>wonwoo seems to recognize that mingyu is getting a little flustered and nods his head. mingyu hands his phone to him to put his number in.</p><p>“okay, then i’ll text you?” wonwoo says. “we can figure out something, if you wanna hang out soon.”</p><p>“yeah, that sounds perfect. bye wonwoo.”</p><p>“bye mingyu.”</p><p>mingyu is honestly in shock. will he ever admit that the thought of wonwoo sends him into a mild frenzy unlike any other.</p><p>and wonwoo probably doesn’t even realize it, so he’s safe for now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hi! so sorry this took a couple of weeks... i wasn’t totally sure what to do with this. even now i’m not totally sure. kinda just going with whatever pops into my brain! </p><p>this hasn’t been edited at all/proofread so if anyone has any constructive criticism or anything i will gladly take it!</p><p>is anyone watching hit the road??? im so invested... it’s so interesting to see a side of svt that is so normal to them but so foreign to fans. </p><p>this is a long note sorry! hope you enjoyed &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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